Daily Express, Kota Kinabalu, 14 June 2006

Rotan, jail for baby via niece, 16

Tawau: A 41-year-old local who fathered a girl through his
16-year-old niece received a maximum jail term of 20 years and
was ordered to be given five lashes of the cane by the Sessions
Court, Tuesday.

Judge Dean Wayne Daly handed down the sentence after the
culprit pleaded guilty to raping the girl in a house at a village
in Merotai at noon in May 2004.

The charge under Section 376B of the Penal Code provides for
an imprisonment between six years and 20 years and whipping (up
to 25 strokes if the offender is below 50), on conviction.

Earlier, DPP Mohd Hafeez Abd Ghani told the court that the man
raped the girl, who was sleeping in the living room with her six
siblings.

After raping her, the man went back into his bedroom while the
victim went to the toilet as she suffered pain in her private
part that was bleeding.

The victim did not tell anyone about the incident for fear of
being scolded by her mother. She related her ordeal after being
forced by her mother who noticed changes in her physical
appearance.

Mohd Hafeez told the court that the Tawau hospital confirmed
that victim was pregnant for 36 weeks on Feb. 14, 2005 and gave
birth to a baby girl at Sandakan hospital on March 1, the same
year.

The DNA tests confirmed that the man was the biological father
of the child whom the victim gave birth to as a result of the
rape.

The man was arrested on April 3, 2005 following a report
lodged by the victim.